Email attachment management in a computer system

ABSTRACT

An e-mail management system that includes an e-mail browser having a time variance interface that provides for storage into a storage media of e-mail messages that have been received over time. The time variance interface of the e-mail browser also provides for retrieval, from the storage media, of the e-mail messages corresponding to a user specified date. The retrieved e-mail messages each include an indication of the presence of an accompanying attachment(s) in the e-mail message. An affirmative indication provides the user with an option of retrieving content of the attachment(s) from the storage media such that the content of the attachment(s) is retrieved by the e-mail browser only when specifically requested by the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/179,343, filed Jan. 31, 2000, pending, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention generally relates to data storage in emailsystems and more particularly to the logical view with granular accessto exchange data managed by a modular data and storage managementsystem.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Traditional methods have involved restoring the MicrosoftExchange Database in its entirety even if the goal of the operation wasto restore just a single object (e-mail message). Such methods take muchlonger to accomplish operation (because of volume of data transferredduring restores), require the Microsoft Exchange database to be takenoffline, and may require extra disk storage to store a temporary copy ofthe restored data.

[0006] Typical storage and retrieval computer systems provide a userwith resources to store digital files such as word processing files,email files, etc. and to retrieve the digital files when desired. Thesedigital files of the computer system are commonly backed up to a newlocation on the computer system itself or even to a completely differentand separate storage facility such as a magnetic tape, a different diskdrive, etc. Backing up digital files provides an alternate source(s) toaccess the digital files when the digital files have become corrupted,lost, written over, no longer accessible due to hardware failure, etc.

[0007] Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art willbecome apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior artwith the present invention as described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Various aspects of the present invention may be realized throughan e-mail management system that includes an e-mail browser having atime variance interface that provides for storage into a storage mediaof e-mail messages that have been received over time. The time varianceinterface of the e-mail browser also provides for retrieval, from thestorage media, of the e-mail messages corresponding to a user specifieddate. The retrieved e-mail messages each include an indication of thepresence of an accompanying attachment(s) in the e-mail message. Anaffirmative indication provides the user with an option of retrievingcontent of the attachment(s) from the storage media such that thecontent of the attachment(s) is retrieved by the e-mail browser onlywhen specifically requested by the user.

[0009] In certain embodiments, the retrieved e-mail messages cause thee-mail browser to appear as it appeared on the user specified date. Inother words, the retrieved e-mail messages create a state of the e-mailbrowser that corresponds to an earlier state of the e-mail browser asthe earlier state appeared on the e-mail browser at the user specifieddate. The storage media of the e-mail management system may be dividedinto more than one subset of storage media to provide a separatelocation for the attachment(s) of the e-mail messages that are stored.The email management system may also include a retrieval manager modulehaving a master storage and backup map that is used to direct access tothe e-mail messages of the storage media such that data in theattachment(s) is retrieved only when specifically requested by the user.

[0010] Various aspects of the present invention may also be foundthrough a method for an email system to display an e-mail browser withinformation that corresponds to a state of the email system on a userspecified date. The method includes receiving at least one e-mailmessage in the e-mail system; storing the at least one e-mail messageinto a storage media via an organizational scheme that provides aseparate storage location for attachment(s), if any, of the at least onee-mail message; indexing the stored at least one e-mail messageaccording to the date that the at least one e-mail message wasoriginally received and according to the storage location of the atleast one e-mail message; specifying a date on which to view the stateof the e-mail system with the e-mail browser; and retrieving, with thee-mail browser, the stored at least one e-mail messages that correspondto the state of the e-mail system on the specified date, each of theretrieved e-mail messages including an option to retrieve theattachment(s), if any. Selecting the option to retrieve theattachment(s) involves retrieving the attachment(s) from the separatestorage location of the storage media by the e-mail browser.

[0011] Still other aspects of the present invention may be realizedthrough a method for an email system to display an e-mail browser withinformation that corresponds to a state of the email system on a userspecified date. In this embodiment, the method involves receiving atleast one e-mail message in the e-mail system; storing the at least onee-mail message into a first storage media and a second storage media.The first storage media excludes attachment(s) and the second storagemedia is solely for attachment(s), if any, of the at least one e-mailmessage. The method also includes indexing the stored at least onee-mail messages according to the date the at least one e-mail messagewas originally received; specifying a date on which to view the state ofthe e-mail system with the e-mail browser; and retrieving, from thefirst storage media, the stored at least one e-mail messages thatcorrespond to the state of the e-mail system on the specified date, eachof the retrieved e-mail messages displayed in the e-mail browser andincluding an option to retrieve the attachment(s), if any, from thesecond storage media. The method may also include selecting the optionto retrieve the attachment(s) of one of the retrieved e-mail messages tothereby transfer data associated with the attachment(s) from the secondstorage media to the e-mail browser.

[0012] Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent withfurther reference to the drawings and specification which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, certain aspects maybe realized when data retrieval of an object or small collections ofobjects take only a small fraction of the time taken by traditionalstorage methods. Also, users may be allowed to view, in detail, exactlywhat objects are available for restore and their attributes at a givenpoint-in-time. Users can also search for objects based on theirattributes before choosing to retrieve them. All browsing and restoringof data is done without compromising availability of the MicrosoftExchange database.

[0014] Archival, retrieval, and indexing of Microsoft Exchange data asdistinct end-user recognizable objects (such as an email message) withability to browse these objects is enabled using certain aspects of thepresent invention. Also enabled is browsing of data at a user definedpoint-in-time, viewing different versions of the same object backed upat different points-in-time, and pattern searches in a logical view thatthe users are familiar with. Also enabled is the retrieval of objectsbacked up from one Microsoft Exchange database to a different targetMicrosoft Exchange target database.

[0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a data andstorage management system built in accordance with principals of thepresent invention.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary data and storagemanagement system.

[0017]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anotherdata and storage management system.

[0018]FIG. 4 is an exemplary e-mail browser that may operate in the dataand storage management systems of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

[0019]FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram of the e-mail browser of FIG. 4 asit would appear when other options are selected by a user.

[0020]FIG. 6 is an exemplary illustration of the e-mail browser of FIG.4 as it may be used to find particular messages in the data and storagemanagement systems of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

[0021]FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a data and storagemanagement system.

[0022]FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of another data andstorage management system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a data andstorage management system 100 built in accordance with principals of thepresent invention. The data and storage management system 100 includesan e-mail system 102 that communicates with a storage media 104 toaccess and store e-mail that is received in or sent from the e-mailsystem 102. The e-mail system 102 includes a retrieval application 106that has an e-mail browser 108 and a time variance interface 110 forinterfacing with an e-mail data retrieval manager 112. The e-mail dataretrieval manager 112 interfaces with the storage media 104 to accesse-mail that has been received in the e-mail system 102. The email dataretrieval manager 112 is configured to provide storage in the storagemedia 104 for e-mail attachments. This storage for the e-mailattachments is separate from the storage for the emails themselves. Inother words, e-mail attachment storage is outside the storage forgeneral emails.

[0024] The data and storage management system 100 allows a user toaccess e-mail from the storage media 104 in numerous manners includingaccessing e-mail from a particular date such that the e-mail browser 108appears as though it is operating on a given date and time other thanthe current date and time. Thus, if the user desires to view the systemin the past, the user may see the e-mail system 102 as it existed at anytime. By storing the e-mail attachments, if any, separately from thee-mails, the e-mail system 102 is able to function more efficiently thanif it were required to access an e-mail attachment each time the e-mailsystem 102 is requested to display the system on a particular date inthe past. The e-mail system 102 operates more efficiently becauseattachments are not transferred unless specifically requested by a user.

[0025]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary data and storagemanagement system 200. The data and storage management system 200includes a computing system 202 that interacts with an e-mail dataretrieval manager 204 to retrieve and store messages from storage media206.

[0026] The computing system 202 includes an e-mail client browser 208that includes a time variance interface 210. The time variance interface210 includes a user interface 212 and a retrieval interface 214. Theretrieval interface 214 interacts with the e-mail data retrieval manager204 and accesses information according to directions found in an e-mailstorage and backup map 216. The e-mail storage and backup map 216includes information that allows the retrieval interface 214 to assistthe e-mail client browser 208 in retrieving data from the storage media206. For example, e-mail messages are retrieved without attachmentsunless the attachment is specifically requested. The storage media 206includes numerous types of storage media which are labeled as a firststorage media 218 and a second storage media 220. Of course, many moreinstances of storage media could exist on the storage media 206 asindicated by the dots representing continued storage media. Retrievinge-mail messages without attachments provides quick access to the stateof all e-mails in the computing system 202.

[0027] The dashed lines in FIG. 2 indicate optional variations andadditions to the data and storage management system 200. For example, atime variance interface 222 may be included in the computing system 202to assist in retrieval of e-mail messages. Also, an e-mail dataretrieval manager 224 may be included to alleviate some of theprocessing that would otherwise take place at the e-mail data retrievalmanager 204.

[0028]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anotherdata and storage management system 300. The data and storage managementsystem 300 includes an e-mail client system 302, an e-mail server system304, and storage media 306. The e-mail client system 302 includes aclient browser 308 and a time variance interface 310. The time varianceinterface 310 includes a user interface 312 and a retrieval interface314.

[0029] The e-mail server system 304 includes an e-mail data deliverymanager 316 which operates using an e-mail storage and backup map 318.The e-mail storage and backup map 318 directs the client browser 308where to go in the storage media 306 to access an e-mail message. Thestorage media 306 includes numerous storage media, such as, a firststorage media 320 and a second storage media 322. As indicated by the “.. . ” more storage media may be added, as necessary, in the storagemedia 306 of the storage and management system 300. At least one reasonfor the multiple storage media such as the first and second storagemedias 320 and 322 is to provide separate storage for e-mailattachments.

[0030]FIG. 4 is an exemplary e-mail browser 400 that may operate in thedata and storage management systems 100, 200, and 300. The e-mailbrowser 400 includes a “view as of” box 401 where a user may indicatethe date of interest for viewing e-mail. As illustrated, the “view asof” box 401 is labeled current to represent the current date of thestorage and retrieval system.

[0031] The e-mail browser 400 includes a mailbox/folder hierarchy 402where mailboxes are shown as well as folders that may be accessed. Thee-mail browser 400 also includes a message list 404 where each of themessages received in the system are listed. A toolbar 406 is illustratedacross the top of the e-mail browser 400. The toolbar 406 includesstandard Windows functions such as file, edit, view, find, and help.

[0032] The message list 404 includes a message list display selector 408that allows a user to select which portions of a message to view in thee-mail browser 400. In the e-mail browser 400, the selections shown inthe message list display selector 408 are the following: from, to, date,subject, and attachment.

[0033] A user may select a message to view as indicated by a selectedmessage 412. When the user selects the message, the user may choose toview the history of the message and activate a history dialog box 414.The history dialog box 414 shows the different stages of the messagesuch as the date the message was first read, forwarded, or replied to.If a user desires to view further states of the messages, the user mayactivate a scroll bar 416 to view more options for the e-mail message.

[0034]FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram of the e-mail browser 400 as itwould appear when other options are selected by a user. Specifically, auser may choose a different date to view the emails as illustrated in a“view as of” box 500 where the date Sep. 15, 1999 has been selected bythe user.

[0035] Selection of the Sep. 15, 1999 date alters the mailboxes andfolders that appear in the mailbox/folder hierarchy 402. As illustrated,only one mailbox appears and not all folder names appear that appearedwhen the “view as of” date was selected to be “current”. Also differentin FIG. 5, are the messages that appear in the message list 404. Onlymessages that were received prior to September 15, 1999 are illustratedin the message list 404. The toolbar 406 and the message list displayselector 408 are both identical to the e-mail browser 400 as previouslyillustrated.

[0036] When a view menu 512 is selected, a user may choose which optionsthey desire for their particular needs of the e-mail browser 400. A“view as of” box 514 may be activated by the user and a date box 516appears which the user can use to enter the date of interest in theemail browser 400. After the date has been selected, the user may enterthe date into the system by pressing an okay button 518. If the userdecides to exit the “view as of” box 514 without making changes, theuser can press a cancel button 520.

[0037] As illustrated, the message list 404 includes some e-mailmessages that have an attachment. Although the attachments are indicatedin the message list 404, the content of the attachments are notautomatically retrieved from the storage media. Only when the attachmentis selected for viewing is the content of the attachment retrieved fromthe storage media. Thus, the e-mail browser 400 operates in a quick andefficient manner to generate the message list 404 that corresponds tothe date specified in the “view as of” box 514.

[0038]FIG. 6 is an exemplary illustration of the e-mail browser 400 asit may be used to find particular messages in the data and storagemanagement systems 100, 200 and 300. A find menu 600 may be selected bythe user from the toolbar 406 and a find message dialog box 602 may beselected to appear on the e-mail browser 400. The find message dialogbox 602 includes a boxname selector box 604 where the user can selectwhich mailbox they would like to perform the search in. A search textbox 606 is available for the user to enter particular terms of themessage for which they would like to search. Of course, the search termscan include wild cards or other custom text for which to find. Uponentry of the search text in the search text box 606, the user presses afind button 608 which causes a search to be performed and all messageswhich are found appear in a message list 610. The user may use a scrollbar 611 to find the particular message of interest. Upon finding theparticular message of interest, the user may press an open button 612 toview the message. The user may also press a backup button 614 to viewthe usage history of the particular message of interest. When the backupbutton 614 is pressed, a history box 616 appears and the history of theselected message appears. A scroll bar 618 is available for the user toscroll through the messages if the list goes beyond the bounds of thehistory box 616. As with typical Windows applications, a help button 620is available for the user to press when in need of help using the findmessage dialog box 602. The user may also press a cancel button 622 toexit the find message dialog box 602.

[0039]FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a data and storagemanagement system 700. The data and storage management system 700includes computing devices 702, 704, 706, and 708 which interact acrossa network 710, such as an Ethernet network. A computing system 712 isalso available to interact with the computing devices 702-708. Thecomputing system 712 includes an e-mail server 714 for receiving andsending e-mails to and from the data and storage management system 700.

[0040] When the data and storage management system 700 is in operation,an e-mail client application 716 on the computing device 702 may requestto view an e-mail message. Installed file system/interface module 718interacts with a retrieval manager 720 of the computing device 704. Theretrieval manager 720 includes a master storage and backup map 722 thatdirects the request to one of the computing devices 706 and 708. At thecomputing devices 706 and 708, respective media modules 724 and 726exist to help the retrieval request know where the desired message islocated. For further assistance in locating the desired message, themedia module 724 and 726 include respective data indexes 728 and 730. Inthis manner, the e-mail client application 716 is able to request amessage and the message is retrieved from one of the storage media,i.e., magnetic disk media 732, optical media 734, or magnetic tape media636. If the message includes an attachment, the attachment is indicatedwhen the message is retrieved, but the content of the attachment isretrieved only upon specific request by a user.

[0041] Of course, the storage media illustrated in FIG. 7 is exemplarystorage media and additional storage media could be used while the datamanagement scheme is continually tracked by the media modules 724 and726 of the data and storage management system 700.

[0042]FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a data and storagemanagement system 800. The data and storage management system 800includes computing devices 802, 804, and 806 which communicate across anetwork 808, such as an Ethernet network. An e-mail client application810 is illustrated in the computing device 802 and may request to viewan e-mail message through an installed file system 812. Similarly, ane-mail server application 814 operates on the computing device 804 andinteracts with an installed file system 816. The computing devices 802and 804 commonly interact with the computing device 806 across thenetwork 808 where a manager module 818 is accessed and a master map 820is available to retrieve more detailed information on the location ofmessages in the data and storage management system 800. If the e-mailclient application 810 has requested an e-mail, the installed filesystem 812 may interact with a network attached storage 822 where amedia module 824 interacts with storage media 826 to retrieve thedesired e-mail message requested by the e-mail client application 810.

[0043] Alternatively, the installed file system 812 may interact with astorage area network 828 across a network 830, the network 830 commonlybeing a high speed fibre network. The storage area network 828 makesaccessing storage media such as magnetic disk media 832, optical media834, and magnetic tape media 836 available without significantprocessing in the computing device 802. To find the exact location ofthe message, a media module 838 (shown in dashed lines to represent theoptional nature of it's location within the storage area network 828)may be used to locate the message. In addition, a media module 840 shownin dashed lines may be available to find the exact location of themessage. Also shown in dashed lines is an extension of the network 830where the network attached storage 822 may include a high speedconnection with the computing devices 802, 804, and 806. Finally, thestorage area network 828 may communicate directly with the network 808as indicated by dashed lines 842.

[0044] As those skilled in the art will understand upon viewing thepresent disclosure, certain aspects of the invention may be integratedwith other applications (such as document management systems. workflowmanagement systems, etc.) that have been built a top of MicrosoftExchange which allows end users of such systems to access their datatransparently across time and versions.

[0045] The above-listed sections and included information are notexhaustive and are only exemplary. The particular sections and includedinformation in a particular embodiment may depend upon the particularimplementation and the included devices and resources. Although a systemand method according to the present invention has been described inconnection with the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to belimited to the specific form set forth herein, but on the contrary, itis intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents,as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. An e-mail management system comprising: an e-mail browser having atime variance interface that provides for storage into a storage mediaof e-mail messages that have been received over time, the time varianceinterface of the e-mail browser also providing for retrieval, from thestorage media, of the e-mail messages corresponding to a user specifieddate; and the retrieved e-mail messages each including an indication ofthe presence of an accompanying attachment(s) in the e-mail message, anaffirmative indication providing the user with an option of retrievingcontent of the attachment(s) from the storage media such that thecontent of the attachment(s) is retrieved by the e-mail browser onlywhen specifically requested by the user.
 2. The e-mail management systemof claim 1 wherein the retrieved e-mail messages cause the e-mailbrowser to appear as it appeared on the user specified date.
 3. Thee-mail management system of claim 1 wherein the retrieved e-mailmessages create a state of the e-mail browser that corresponds to anearlier state of the e-mail browser as the earlier state appeared on thee-mail browser at the user specified date.
 4. The e-mail managementsystem of claim 1 wherein the storage media is divided into more thanone subset of storage media to provide a separate location for theattachment(s) of the e-mail messages that are stored.
 5. The e-mailmanagement system of claim 1 further comprising a retrieval managermodule having a master storage and backup map that is used to directaccess to the e-mail messages of the storage media such that data in theattachment(s) is retrieved only when specifically requested by the user.6. A method for an e-mail system to display an e-mail browser withinformation that corresponds to a state of the e-mail system on a userspecified date, the method comprising: receiving at least one e-mailmessage in the e-mail system; storing the at least one e-mail messageinto a storage media via an organizational scheme that provides aseparate storage location for attachment(s), if any, of the at least oneemail message; indexing the stored at least one e-mail message accordingto the date that the at least one e-mail message was originally receivedand according to the storage location of the at least one e-mailmessage; specifying a date on which to view the state of the e-mailsystem with the e-mail browser; and retrieving, with the e-mail browser,the stored at least one e-mail messages that correspond to the state ofthe e-mail system on the specified date, each of the retrieved e-mailmessages including an option to retrieve the attachment(s), if any. 7.The method of claim 6 further comprising selecting the option toretrieve the attachment(s) to thereby retrieve the attachment(s) fromthe separate storage location of the storage media by the e-mailbrowser.
 8. A method for an e-mail system to display an e-mail browserwith information that corresponds to a state of the e-mail system on auser specified date, the method comprising: receiving at least onee-mail message in the e-mail system; storing the at least one e-mailmessage into a first storage media and a second storage media, the firststorage media excluding attachment(s) and the second storage media beingsolely for attachment(s), if any, of the at least one e-mail message;indexing the stored at least one e-mail messages according to the datethe at least one e-mail message was originally received; specifying adate on which to view the state of the e-mail system with the e-mailbrowser; and retrieving, from the first storage media, the stored atleast one e-mail messages that correspond to the state of the e-mailsystem on the specified date, each of the retrieved e-mail messagesdisplayed in the e-mail browser and including an option to retrieve theattachment(s), if any, from the second storage media.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 further comprising selecting the option to retrieve theattachment(s) of one of the retrieved e-mail messages to therebytransfer data associated with the attachment(s) from the second storagemedia to the e-mail browser.